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Oil still spilling from pipeline; suspect charged

By Maureen Clark Associated Press Writer
Sunday October 07, 2001

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Oil continued to spew like a geyser from the trans-Alaska oil pipeline for a second day Friday, the result of a bullet hole shot in the line. 

Crews were working on a plan to plug the hole and were cleaning up the estimated 280,000 gallons of oil that had spilled by Friday evening, but the work was proceeding slowly due to explosive vapors at the site, said Brad Hahn of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. 

“You have to try to suppress the vapors with the fire suppression foam and you have to use large fans to blow the explosive vapors away from the work area,” Hahn said. 

Oil under high pressure was sprayed through a small hole onto about two acres of trees, brush and tundra. Regulators said there was no evidence that any wildlife has been oiled by the spill. 

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon about 75 miles north of Fairbanks. The pipeline was quickly shut down, but oil remained under high pressure in the section of the line that was pierced by the bullet. 

The suspect, Daniel Carson Lewis, 37, was arraigned Friday in Fairbanks Superior Court and was being held on $1.5 million bail. 

According to charging documents, Lewis, who has an extensive criminal background, had been drinking before shooting the pipeline with a .338-caliber rifle. He is charged with driving while intoxicated, weapons misconduct, felony assault and criminal mischief. 

When the bullet penetrated the pipe, Lewis fled on an all-terrain vehicle, according to charging documents. His brother, Randolph Lewis, remained at the scene and explained to pipeline security officers what had happened. 

Randolph Lewis told investigators his brother had threatened him with the gun. But Daniel Lewis told Alaska State Troopers he was asleep at his home at the time of the shooting and had not been with his brother. 

Gov. Tony Knowles called the incident “a hare-brained act of violence.” 

Knowles said state officials would be taking another look at security along the 800-mile pipeline. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the line, had beefed up security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

“Clearly the fact that one person with a rifle can do this much damage is a point of concern in terms of vulnerability,” Knowles said. 

About 420 miles of the pipeline is above ground and runs through remote wilderness. The rest is underground. 

Alyeska officials were considering using a crane to install a hydraulic clamp over the line to cover the hole. But the flammable vapors in the area made the operation dangerous. 

“There’s concern about the safety of the workers there. It is a very delicate operation with large machinery in a volatile environment,” Woolston said. 

On Friday, company officials said they hoped to have the operation completed by evening. But, by late afternoon, that timetable had been scrapped and it was not known when the operation would take place, Woolston said. 

Workers had built a series of dikes to contain the spilled oil and keep it away from the Tolovana River, about a mile away. More than 15,000 gallons had been collected by vacuum trucks and was being stored in tanks near the site, Woolston said. About 420,000 gallons of oil remained in the section of line that was leaking. 

“Cleanup crews are now, at this point, keeping up with the spill rate, so the damage to the environment is limited to what’s been done,” Woolston said Friday evening. 

Woolston said it was not known when the line would be restarted. 

The pipeline has been dented by bullets in the past, but Thursday’s incident marked the first time a bullet had ever pierced the line. The 48-inch pipe is protected by an outer layer of galvanized steel and nearly four inches of insulation. The steel wall of the pipe is about a half-inch thick. 

An act of sabotage on the pipeline in 1978 resulted in a spill of 670,000 gallons of oil. A hole was blasted in the line with explosives at Steel Creek, near Fairbanks. No one was ever arrested in that attack.